Ratchet and Clank: Tales and Tears of the Heart
by Emile The Watcher
Summary: Sasha has made a decision, its been a few years since she last saw him, and after hearing a little bit of what he's been through, she determined to track him down. What she finds though, isn't what she expected, the person she sought is different, struggling with a wound on his soul that cuts deep. Sasha hopes to help him heal, but first he has to let her in. Oneshot.


_**So, been catching up on my PS3 Exclusives over the past couple days, and one series on that list was Resistance, which was made by Insomniac of course, and when I got to the third one, I couldn't help but think that it was a M rated FPS Ratchet and Clank, it's awesome, which got me itching for some actual Ratchet and Clank, and while playing Up your Arsenal and trading quotes from the game with one of my friends, I had this Oneshot Idea strike me, so, I figured I would swoop by and drop it off on ya, let me know what you think. I did play around with story lines a bit here, but I think it came out alright.**_

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\/ **Ratchet** **and Clank**: _Tales and Tears of the Heart_ \/

\/ **Fanfic** **by**: _Emile the Watcher_ \/

\/ **Disclaimer**: _I do not own anything Ratchet and Clank, that all belongs to Insomniac, and OMFG have you guys heard about Into the Nexus!? "Get those weapon wheels ready, Ratchet is back. Classically."_\/

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/\ Starship _Phoenix, _Captains Quarters /\

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"Are you sure about this Sasha?"

Sasha sighed as she continued about her room aboard the _Phoenix,_ grabbing this and that from her closet and taking it over to the open suitcase on her bed. "Yes, for the thousandth time, I'm sure." she tucked the clothes she had grabbed into the suitcase, filling up the bag for her trip. As she closed it, she heard the voice behind her sigh as well.

"Well, at least let me send some Galactic Rangers with you."

Sasha shook her head as she walked into her bathroom. "No." she called out as she took off her head piece from her commanders uniform and let her hair flow down to just past her shoulders. She ran a brush through it, before she pulled the hair into a high hanging pony tail. "I don't want any sign of the Military with me, there has been enough of that."

"Then I'm coming with you."

Sasha set her comb into her bathroom bag and stepped out, her sharp eyes frowning at the figure in her door way. "For the last time, No!" She sighed and grabbed her bag throwing it onto the bed next to her suitcase. "Look, Dad, I know you mean well, but this is just something that I have to do alone." she paused and walked over to her dad, "Just trust me on this, please." Her dad sighed and nodded. Ever since he had lost his position as Galactic President, he had been hellbent on spending as much time with her, and it had been nice at first, but now. "Look Dad, it took me months of wheedling to get the location out of my source, and even then, she only agreed to give it to me if I promised to go alone. Besides, even if something happens, its not like I can't take care of myself."

Her dad set his hand on her shoulder, and she tilted her head to rest it on his fingers. "I know you can handle yourself, but you're still my baby girl, and I want to make sure you don't get hurt."

Sasha frowned as she looked at her dad. "What do you mean?"

Her dad looked away. "It's...It's nothing. I just don't want to lose you."

Sasha took a step froward and hugged her dad. "Don't worry Dad, I'll always have time for you. Going to have more of it now after all"

Her dad smiled sadly and returned the hug, when they parted a few moments later her dad backed out into the hallway. "Is leaving the military the right thing to do?" he asked her quietly, when she nodded a few moments later he glanced down the hallway. "Guess I'll see you later huh?"

Sasha nodded. "Count on it."

Her dad gave her one more of those sad smiles before he turned around and walked down the hallway, Sasha watched him go before she closed her eyes and inhaled slowly, walking back to her bed and grabbing her bags and looking around the room one more time. She had been Captain of the this ship off and on for quite a few years, and now that she was leaving it, she felt something tug at her heart, it took her a moment to place it. It was the same feeling she had when she first entered into the academy, looking back one last time at her mother and father as they waved her off onto the bus. That cold nervous feeling in her stomach from leaving home for the first time.

She had been here long enough, that this room, the entire ship really, felt like home. It was painful to be leaving it all behind. But she knew that it would be worth it in the end, or rather she hoped anyway. She was on her way out of the room when she saw herself in the mirror she kept by the doorway. She set her bags down and walked over to the mirror, studying her reflection.

It was hard to believe that she was turning twenty-nine next month, she ran her dark brown furred fingers though her raven black hair, pausing she touched the purple highlights that she had added to the edges. She stared at her black t-shirt, and blue jeans, so used to seeing herself in her purple commanders uniform, that casual outfit she was wearing almost look foreign. She sighed and glanced back at the bed, where the outfit sat, her headpiece sitting on top of the folded bodysuit and gloves next to it. Her blaster and holster were hanging off one edge of the bed.

She blushed and felt her cheeks heat up as she remember one of the other times the holster had hung like that before she turned around and grabbed her bags, walking through the hallway out into the hanger where the Ranger dropship was waiting.

She felt her eyes widen when she saw the two lines of Galactic Rangers standing at attention along the way to the boarding ramp. Standing at the top of the ramp was Aquagirl, the new President of the Solona Galaxy, and one of her few close friends. As soon as Sasha set a booted foot down on the hanger floor, she heard one of the Rangers speak up.

"All Units, begin Salute!"

She turned her head to either side as she walked, watching as the Rangers saluted her as she walked past. She reached the ramp and stopped in front of Aquagirl. "What's all this about?" she asked softly as she set her bags down.

Aquagirl smiled and held out a hand. "Do you think I would let the finest Captain in the Solona Army leave with out a proper farewell." Sasha reached out and shook her hand a few times. She gasped softly when Aquagirl suddenly pulled her into a hug. "You take care of yourself Sasha, god knows you deserve to be happy."

Sasha awkwardly returned the hug, unused to the gesture from her friend. "Thanks Aquagirl."

They parted ways and Aquagirl glanced out at the hanger. "I don't suppose I can talk you into staying." Sasha shook her head and Aquagirl chuckled. "I didn't think so, in that case, good luck."

Sasha picked up her bags and nodded. "Thanks, I'll see you around." she walked into the ship and secured her bags before pulling herself up onto one of the bench seats and buckling herself in. She glanced out into the hanger one last time as the pilot closed the door and started the engines. She felt the small jolt as the floor beneath the ship dropped out and the dropship floated out into the blackness of space and drifted away from the _Phoenix._

She listened in from the cockpit as the pilot spoke up. "This is Dropship Alpha-4-Foxtrot-3, carrying former Captain Sasha, we're away from the _Phoenix _and are requesting permission to warp."

"_Dropship Alpha-4-Foxtrot-3, you are cleared for warp, the captain wishes you good luck and god speed."_

"Acknowledged. Launching warp now."

Sasha felt the hairs on her head tingle as the ship activated its warp drive and suddenly accelerated into a warp hole.

She closed her eyes as she heard the pilot call out. "We're on our way to Polaris now Capt-Er, Ms. Phyronix. It's a long ride, so sit tight while the cryo-drive is activated. When you wake up, we'll be Igliak."

Sasha nodded, keeping her eyes closed. "Okay, I'll see you in a month then."

/\ Polaris Galaxy, Praxus Sector, Igliak, Meridian City, Forty Nine Days later /\

Sasha stepped off the dropships boarding ramp, stretching as she tried to shake off the last of the cryo-sleep tingles. As she finished stretching, she looked around at the various citizens who were all in the Starport, staring at her, and her ship, some of them had a look of slight fear, and some with anger.

She glanced up the boarding ramp at the Ranger who had flew her here. "Why is everybody staring at us like that?"

The Ranger looked around. "I would say considering everything that happened in the last few years, they are not to happy with Military type ships here."

Sasha snorted as she picked up her bags. "Well, they're just going to have to deal with it." She started to walk off but glanced back at the Ranger. "How long will you stay here?"

The Ranger started closing the boarding ramp door. "We have permission to be here for a week, after that, I'm going to have to head back to Solona."

Sasha nodded as the boarding ramp sealed the Ranger into his ship, and she continued into the space port, her stomach grumbling for some food.

Four hours later found Sasha leaving the Spaceport, her hunger sated, and her new Polaris citizen ID snug in her wallet. She hefted her bags along with her and waved down a taxi, she hopped in and rode it to a near by hotel, she checked in and went up to her room, putting her bags in her room and hopping into the shower for a quick scrub before she changed her outfits.

When she left her room an hour later, she was dressed in a purple tank-top, with baggy green cargo shorts hanging down to just past her knees. She had a pair of sunglasses on her head that she dropped down over her eyes as she reached the lobby. She stopped by at the front desk and waited until the concierge wasn't busy.

The Concierge finally turned to Sasha and spoke in a quiet calming voice. "How may I help you?"

Sasha reached into her pocket and pulled out a business card, glancing at the logo as she spoke. "Hi, I'm new to the system, and I was wondering if you could tell me if you knew where Omni-Garages is?"

The Concierge smiled "Of course, its a popular place for how small it is, I hear they're finally thinking of looking for another mechanic. Anyway, just hail a cab and tell them you want to go there, its just down the main hoverway, the cab can drop you off at one of the off ramps and that garage is just a few blocks over from there."

Sasha nodded. "Thank you, I'll do that." she turned and walked away, exiting the lobby and signaling a cab, it took her few minutes but one eventually stopped for her, and she got into the back seat.

"Where too Ms?" the drive asked as she closed the door.

"Omni-Garages."

"Say no more, I'll have you there in a jiffy."

The cab pulled away from the hotel and merged into traffic, heading for the main hoverway, Sasha turned her gaze to the window, watching the buildings and other hover cars fly by as her mind started to drift, this close to finding him, she started to have doubts niggle at her mind.

Would he still be the same? Would he still remember her? Would he even see her after all this time?

She shook her head to clear them of the dark thoughts as the cab pulled up next a drop off station on the sidewalk and Sasha paid him the required amount of bolts before she got out of the cab. Before she closed the door she leaned in. "How do I get to the garage from here?"

The cab driver rolled down his window and pointed past her down the sidewalk. "Head down that way for two blocks, then look left, you can't miss it."

Sasha nodded her thanks and tipped him the last few extra bolts she had on her, before she turned and started walking. When she reached the second block she turned her gaze to the left and blinked in surprise.

A modest four car garage sat at the end of the street, a bright neat sign showing an Omni-wrench turning a bolt crank with the words 'Omni-Garage' surrounding the grip of the wrench lighting up in sequence with each other was stretched across the top space above the bays.

Sasha shook her head as she walked towards the garage, she noticed the 'Help Wanted' sign as she pushed into the large office, a chime in the back announcing her arrival. A moment later a purple skinned local of Igliak stepped out of the office and Sasha felt her heart drop a bit.

"Hello, Welcome to Omni-Garages, my name is Derek, what can I help you with?"

Sasha leaned down on the counter, taking off her sunglasses and hanging them from her shirt. "Actually, I came here looking for your Mechanic..." she paused, "That isn't you is it?"

Derek laughed. "No way, I'm here just as an office boy, I run the office for the man in charge, He told me he's better at turning a wrench then helping people with paper work, so he hired me. He has some little robot dude who comes in to balance the books once a week. But otherwise that's it." Derek paused and ran his eyes over Sasha. "Are you here to apply for the other mechanic position?"

Sasha raised an eyearch. "What makes you think I'm a mechanic?"

Derek boxed Sasha in with his fingers as he took a step back from her, "That look you have, its the same on he does, something in your eyes." He dropped his hands to his side and continued. "Plus, I don't see a car out there, and I would remember if you came in earlier to drop a car off." He paused. "So, are you here for the position?"

Sasha glanced back at the help wanted sign. "Yeah, I guess I am."

Derek jerked his thumb at a side door the led out to the garage. "Head on out then, he's in bay two."

Sasha nodded and walked out into the garage as Derek headed back into the office. Sasha worked her way over to bay two where a shiny red hover car sat on its lift jacks. Sasha walked around the car until she saw a pair of work boots attached to blue jean covered legs stretching underneath the car. As she came to a stop next to them, she heard a voice drift out from underneath. "Yeah, what is it Derek?"

Sasha blinked as the voice called up all sorts of memories, and she paused for a moment before she answered. "I'm not Derek, who told me to just come in here, I'm here for the Mechanic position."

The voice drifted out from underneath the car again. "You and forty other guys and girls who think they can keep up with me. Only met one other person who can do that, and I doubt you're her."

Sasha shook her head with a smile. "Really Ratchet, I know my voice has changed, but I didn't think it was the much, and to be clear, it was you who could keep up with me."

Silence greeted her from a moment before she heard the sound of a tool hitting the hard ground and Ratchet pulled himself out from underneath the car, staring up at Sasha in shock. "Sasha?" he asked quietly.

Sasha knelt down and pulled off his leather cap, ruffling his fur, before she set it back on his head. "Heya Hotshot, long time no see."

The Lombax that stared up at her was older for sure, but not just in age, there was something in his eyes, something that spoke of all the torment that he had been through in the past few years. He was dressed in blue work overalls, who's straps reached up to cover a white shirt that was covered with a variety of stains, he had a small bandages wrapped around his upper left arm. His green eyes stared up into her purple ones and Sasha just smiled. "This is usually where people say hi back."

Ratchet sat up off the sled he was on, "Sasha, what are you doing here?"

Sasha sat down next to Ratchet. "I came to find you, I've been worried." she reached out and laid a hand over his gloved one. "It's been three years Ratchet. Three, long years, that I waited for you." Sasha frowned and glanced down at Ratchet as he pulled his hand out from under hers. "Ratchet?"

Ratchet closed his eyes and looked away from her. "I'm sorry, I just, I need to go."

Ratchet stood up and Sasha jumped to her feet as well, reaching out to grab Ratchet's arm. "Are you running from me?"

Ratchet glanced down at her arm. "No, I just, I need, more time..."

Sasha frowned and kept her grip on his arm. "Ratchet, I can see it in your eyes, something happened, you can talk to me. You know that."

Ratchet closed his eyes and sighed. "Not here." he said softly, before he tugged his arm out of her grip and turned towards the office. "Hey Derek!" He called out.

Derek came to the door a few moments later. "Yeah Boss?"

Ratchet picked up his omni-wrench and tucked it into a tool chest. "I'm not feeling well, and I'm closing up for the day, finish what your doing then lock up will ya?"

Derek nodded. "Sure thing boss." He eyed Sasha with distrust. "You call me if you need anything."

Ratchet nodded as he grabbed a jacket and pulled it over himself, zipping it up to cover the stains on his white shirt. "Sure thing Derek, see ya tomorrow." Ratchet reached behind him and popped open a button near his back that let his tail slid out through a hole in his pants. He sighed in relief and glanced over at Sasha. "Got to keep it tucked away when I'm on the sled, otherwise I run it over sometimes."

Sasha just nodded, keeping her eyes on Ratchet, who sighed before he gestured towards the open garage door. "Come on then."

As they walked out the doors, Ratchet took a key ring out of his pocket and inserted it into a lock near the garage door, turning it and causing the door to slid down over the opening. When it locked into place, Ratchet started walking, Sasha trailing behind him, she glanced behind her at the office to see Derek flipping over the open sign to closed. He narrowed his eyes at her for a moment before he closed the shutters to the window.

When Sasha turned around, she saw Ratchet still walking slowly ahead of her, his shoulders drooped. He led the way down the block to a new looking apartment building. He walked down an alleyway and towards a staircase that led up to a loft apartment. He stopped and reached into his jacket pulling out his key and jamming it into the door before he turned it.

Instead of opening the door, he turned to face her as she came up the steps behind him. She stopped when she locked gazes with him. "Why did you come?"

Sasha felt shocked that he would ask her that. "What? Why wouldn't I? After DreadZone, you said you needed time, and some space, and I gave it to you." She paused and glanced down at her hand. "Then Tachyon attacked Kerwan, and you vanished during the fighting. I had no idea where you were for the longest time, until Qwark decided to check in with me. He told me everything that happened to you-"

Ratchet cut a hand through the air, snarling. "He had no right!"

Sasha took a step back down the stairs, staring at Ratchet, who was panting after his sudden outburst. Ratchet closed his eyes and turned his head, suddenly ashamed as he calmed down. "Sasha...I'm...Just go..."

Sasha reclaimed her lost step, and reached out to the lombax above her. "Ratchet, I-"

Ratchet suddenly opened the door "Just go, leave me alone." he slipped inside his apartment and closed the door before she could follow, she dimly heard the lock clicking.

Sasha felt tears build up in the corner of her eyes as she took a step backwards down the stairway. "Ratchet..." she said softly as a tear escaped her eye to slid down into her fur. She wiped her eyes to stop anymore tears before she continued up the staircase, knocking on his door. "Ratchet, please, just talk to me." when no response came, she let a little of the desperation she was feeling creep into her voice as she knocked again. "Ratchet, please, at the very least, let me in. Talk to me..." She leaned against the door. "Please, I still love you and...if what we had before means anything to you now, let me in."

She waited, her heart pounding in her chest when she didn't hear anything from inside the apartment for a full minute. She closed her eyes and was just starting to turn away when she heard the latch click and the door opened.

Ratchet stared out at her. "Did you mean it?" Sasha waited in silence for him to clarify, Ratchet looked down at the ground. "After all this time, and everything I've done to you..."

Sasha nodded slowly. "I never once gave up on you Ratchet. Not once."

Ratchet sighed and stepped back, gesturing her into the apartment. Sasha entered slowly, glancing around the sparsely furnished room. In the middle sat an old sofa, a few patches on the cushions, the sofa faced a large vid-screen on the wall. A counter cut the room in half, and a kitchen dominated the half on one side. She glanced down a hallway and saw a bathroom and another door that she assume was Ratchet's room. Along the wall of the room was heater that looked like a real wood fireplace. She turned around when she heard the door close behind her.

They stared at each other for a moment, neither of the battle hardened warriors blinking. Eventually though, Ratchet looked away, not blinking, but not giving up either. "You said you wanted to talk, so talk."

Sasha was silent for a moment. "Fine, lets start with what happened to you."

Ratchet moved over to the couch and sat down on it. "What do you mean?"

Sasha frowned as she moved around the couch to sit on the edge on the other side from Ratchet. "Don't try that with me Ratchet, not me. You're not acting like yourself, something happened, something bad."

Ratchet scoffed. "like you don't know, Qwark told you everything."

Sasha shook her head. "Qwark told me what he remembers, and we both know that its never what really happened. The only thing he told me about you really is that you found your homeworld."

Ratchet closed his eyes while he clenched his fist. "Right...Fastoon, home of the Lombax's, and the place where they ran from their enemies." He glanced up at Sasha. "Tachyon, he knew what happened to the Lombax's, he was the cause of them going into hiding. He knew my dad, and he was the one who killed him." Ratchet sighed and leaned back into the couch, a hand over his eyes. "He offered me a chance to go and live with them, and I almost took it." He reached out in front of him with his hands, gasping at the air. "I could reach out and touch me people Sasha, and..." his hands dropped his sides "...I didn't take it."

Sasha was quiet for a moment. "Why didn't you? I know how important finding your people was to you."

Ratchet looked over at her. "Because, I knew that if I didn't stop Tachyon right then and there, the Lombax's would never be safe."

Sasha laid a hand on Ratchet's shoulder, but he shrugged it off. She sighed and moved off the edge of the couch to sit on the cushion next to Ratchet. "That mostly matches with what Qwark told me, but that's not what's causing you pain."

Ratchet leaned forward with his hands on his lap. "During the mess with Tachyon, Clank said he met these guys called Zoni, we were celebrating defeating Tachyon at Talwyn's place. The Zoni just showed up out of nowhere and took Clank." he paused for a moment. "It drove me crazy not having Clank, he's my friend, my brother really, and when he was gone, all I could think about was finding him..."

Ratchet drifted into silence and Sasha let him be for a full minute before she spoke up quietly. "There has to be more to that, because I know that you wouldn't be working as a mechanic if Clank was still missing."

Ratchet nodded. "All I could think about was finding him, so when I met another Lombax, one that was looking for Clank as well, who told me that we could save my father, and my mother, I had another reason for finding Clank."

Sasha blinked. "Wait, another Lombax? Who?"

Ratchet stood up and walked over to the fireplace, he reached underneath his jacket and pulled out a golden watch that was hanging from his neck by a golden chain. He started talking as he flipped it open. "Alister Azimuth. The only other lombax in this dimension, and best friend of my father Kaiden..."

Sasha stood up and took a step closer to see if she could look into the watch, but Ratchet closed it before she could get a good look. Before she could ask Ratchet continued talking. "He told me of a place called the Great Clock, where time itself was controlled, and where the Zoni had taken Clank." Ratchet sighed and looked over his shoulder. "Nefarious was also involved, and I put him down for what I hope is good, then we dropped Clank off at the Great Clock, but he changed his mind and decided to come with me."

Sasha blinked at how quickly he wrapped the story up. "Wait just like that, you came here to become a mechanic?"

Ratchet shrugged, "Why not, it seemed like the best thing, fixing is the only other thing I'm good at..." he paused "You know, aside from killing."

Sasha frowned and was silent for a moment. "Ratchet...you didn't..."

Ratchet closed his eyes and turned his head, trying to block out the memories. He spoke up quietly, "I need to go lay down for a moment, I'm not feeling well." before Sasha could say another word, Ratchet dodged around her and down the hallway, she flinched again when she heard his door slam. She moved over to the couch and sat down again, shaking her head.

When she had left Solona, she had this big idea in her head about finding Ratchet and just, picking up, where they had left off. But instead, the Ratchet she found was quieter, more solemn, and very different. Her ears perked as she heard Ratchet's voice from his room.

She moved over and put her ear to the door, listening to the quiet conversation that Ratchet was having with himself.

"_Why did you do it Alister? Why didn't you listen until it was too late?" _Sasha frowned and pulled away from the door, she shouldn't be listening to this conversation. She still heard the rest of it though. _"Why did you force me to fight you? Why did you leave me alone..."_

Sasha gulped and stepped back from the door, she waited a moment before she called out. "Ratchet, I'm sorry for causing this." she fell silent as she felt tears build up in her eyes. "I'm sorry that I cause you pain somehow...I'll...I'll leave..."

She waited for a response but when none came, she wiped her eyes and left the apartment, fighting tears the entire time she was walking back to her hotel, and she had a long way to walk. When she finally reached her hotel, she stumbled into her room and closed the door, falling down on the soft bed and letting the tears start to fall. She had uprooted her entire life to find Ratchet, and now he didn't even want her around, she wasn't quite sure what to do. She couldn't go back to Solona like this, what would she tell everybody? They all knew that she had gone to find Ratchet, and if she came back with tears...

She wiped her eyes one last time before she drifted off to a fit full sleep.

When she woke up the next afternoon, it wasn't with anything like the energy she had when she left the room the day before. She took a shower, but didn't even bother changing her outfits when she got out, she slowly packed her suitcase before she glanced one last time around the room, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet, looking sadly at her new ID before she turned to the door to her room. She was looking at the ground as she walked, so when she opened the door she was surprised when she saw a pair of boots standing in front of her door.

She looked up and sat Ratchet standing there with his fist raised ready to knock. They stared at each other for a long moment before Ratchet lowered his fist. "Hi."

Sasha just blinked and took in his outfit. He was wearing green cargo jeans and had a snug black t-shirt tucked into a belt. His gloves were tucked into a pocket and were partially hanging out, his leather cap was on as well, its straps hanging loose as usual.

Sasha remained quiet and Ratchet bowed his head. "Look, about last night-"

Sasha cut in. "Its okay, I get it, I just made you think about things you would rather not remember. I'm sorry, I'll leave you alone." she made to move past him but Ratchet put an arm out in front of her.

"Please." He started quietly. "Help me through this, I've been running from it all for too long. I need somebody to talk to. Somebody who might understand."

Sasha blinked "What about Clank?"

Ratchet shook his head. "No, I need somebody who understand, and Clank isn't one of them."

Sasha was silent for a long moment before she moved away from the door and placed her bags on her bed again. She turned to face Ratchet who was still standing out in the hallway. "Come in then."

Ratchet nodded and walked in, closing and locking the door behind him. He walked across her room and over to the small breakfast area she had, where a small table sat with two comfy looking chairs. He sat down in one and Sasha sat in the other, she leaned back in her chair and raised an eyebrow at Ratchet.

Ratchet leaned forward on the table as he started talking. "It all started with DreadZone..."

Hours passed and dusk fell as Ratchet recanted his tale of killing Ace Hardlight, and how it was different for him, how it affected him, no matter how much he pretend he didn't. He told her the full story behind his adventures in Polaris, fighting Tachyon, finding his people, and loosing Clank. How he tried to track him down, and ended up meeting Alister, and how they worked together to find the Great Clock, and fought Nefarious, only to end up fighting each other to the death inside the Orvus chamber.

"I killed him Sasha, I killed the only other Lombax I'm most likely to ever meet." He glanced up, tears in his eyes. "What kind of hero does that make me?" he paused "What kind of person does that make me?" He dropped his head again, unable to meet Sasha's gaze in the dim light of the hotel room.

Sasha was quiet for a moment. "Ratchet." she reached out a hand and grabbed one of his, holding it softly. "As odd as it sounds, I know a bit about what you're going through."

Ratchet looked up at her, confused. "How?"

Sasha sighed. "For me it started back in the academy, before I joined the military. You know I started in the Marcadia police force first right?"

Ratchet nodded. "I remember you telling me that."

Sasha was quiet for a moment. "Well, I didn't tell you all of it, and I've never really told anybody else about this either." Sasha stood up and folded her arms across her chest as she turned towards the bed. "While I was in training with the police force, I had a sergeant who was training me, he was a Cezar named Raymond Elfire" Sasha closed her eyes as she thought back to the last night she had seen him. "Raymond was everything I thought I wanted to be, tough, loyal, and honest to the badge, he was the perfect police officer, and considering I didn't see a lot of my dad around that time, he was more then a bit of a father figure for me." She glanced over her shoulder at Ratchet who was watching her. "That's why one night when we went out on patrol, I found everything I believed ripped out from under me in just a few hours."

Ratchet stood up and walked over to her. "What happened?"

Sasha sighed one more time. "I was eighteen..."

"_We were two hours into our patrol one night..."_

Raymond glanced over at Sasha as their patrol car rounded another corner on their route. "Looks like another uneventful night here on Marcadia eh Corporal?"

Sasha, dressed in her black and brown Marcadia police outfit nodded as she played with her helmet in her lap. "Guess so, sir." she glanced over at him. "That's not a bad thing is it?"

The red furred Cezar laughed softly as he turned them down another seat. "I suppose not." He glanced at her and Sasha saw the black patch of fur around his eye highlighted by a street light as they drove underneath it. His outfit was black with a dark red running along his shoulders to identify his higher rank. "That doesn't mean you can let your guard down though, always keep your eyes open, paying attention to the people around you could be the thing that saves your life when things go south."

Sasha nodded. "Right. I'll keep that in mind sir."

Before the conversation could continue, the radio in the middle of the car sprung into life as the vid-screen activated. "Control to Car 1485, we have a domestic disturbance reported at 4586 Industrial near by. Request that you check it out."

Raymond reached out and tapped the screen, turning on the mic. "Roger that Control. We'll head there right now. Stand by for our report." He hit the end call button on the screen before he increased the speed of the car slightly as they headed down another side street.

Sasha was calling up information on the address. "Let's see, 4586 Industrial-"

Raymond cut her off. "Don't bother, I've responded to this type of call there before. It's an abanded part of a factory and a bunch of thugs and smugglers always raise a little chaos there every now and then." Raymond turned them down another street. "I'll go in there, flash my badge, puff out my chest a bit and they'll scatter."

Sasha nodded as she leaned back in her seat, she frowned as she thought, her gaze locked on Raymond.

Usually when they were called into something, he tensed up a bit, pressing into the back of the seat, sometimes he was tighten his grip on the steering wheel as well. This time though, he leaned forward a bit, and even tapped his fingers as they waited for a light change at a intersection.

Sasha's frown deepened, Raymond knew something more then what he was telling her.

When they reached the factory entrance, Sasha made to get out of the car, only to stop when Raymond put an arm on her shoulder. "You stay here rookie, I don't want you getting hurt in there. Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

Sasha nodded and settled back in her seat as Raymond got out of the car and jogged over to the entrance, she waited until he was inside before she opened her door and walked over after him, drawing her plasma pistol as she approached the building. Something Raymond should have done.

Sasha entered the factory after checking to make sure the coast was clear. Raymond was right about one thing, the factory was abandoned, so it didn't take her too long to find him. When she caught up to him, she stuck to the shadows, watching what was going on in front of her, unable to believe what she was seeing.

In front of her, one of the local gangs was unloaded a truck full of illegal street drugs, using children at the labor, and Raymond wasn't just standing there watching, he was also supervising, directing crates to different trucks.

Sasha blinked and tucked her head back behind cover, trying to come up with some excuse, some far fetched reason as to why Raymond was helping a notorious gang receive their drugs. When none came to mind, she started charging her plasma pistol and waited for her chance to spring.

It came a few minutes later when the gang split up to take their hauls and their child slaves back to their stomping grounds, leaving Raymond alone, holding a small bag of high value bolts. She waited until he tucked it into his pocket and had turned around whistling before she spoke up.

"I hope you have a good reason for doing that aside from the bolts."

Raymond froze as he voice echoed out into the dark factory. "Rookie?" he asked softly, as he crouched slightly and started gazing around at all the shadows. "I thought I told you to wait in the car."

"You also told me to pay attention to people, and I knew something was off as soon as you got the call." Sasha moved from her cover, sticking to the shadows as she got around behind him, glad that the factory carried her voice so well. "How long have you been doing this?"

Raymond was still looking around trying to locate Sasha. "This isn't what it looks like."

"I'm sure it isn't."

Raymond frowned. "Listen up Sasha, cut this out and come out."

"We're not off duty, why are you calling me by my name?"

Raymond spun around as Sasha bumped into a loose panel. "Sasha, this isn't funny anymore. Come on out and we can talk about this."

Sasha waited a moment before she stepped out into the dim light, her pistol charged, but aimed at the ground. Her eyes were hard as she looked on at the person who had basically raised her over the past year, ever since she had joined the intern program while in school. "Why did you go it Raymond? Please tell me it wasn't for the bolts, tell me there is some other reason I'm not seeing."

Raymond watched her approach. "Of course there is, I tagged everything that just went out, so that way we'll be able to track them down later and put an end to this little operation of theirs."

Sasha narrowed her eyes. "Then how come you haven't already shut this place down." Raymond looked confused and Sasha continued. "You know your way around this place, and they knew you, this wasn't the first time, or even the second or third time that you've done this." Sasha stopped where she was, a good amount of space between her and Raymond. "Just tell me why."

Raymond sighed and bowed his head. "Cats out of the bag then huh." He placed a hand over his face. "The money was too good Sasha, I knew it was wrong, but I needed it, and after a while well, it didn't seem so bad. So what if one gang got their stuff in, I made sure they treated the kids right." Raymond looked up at her. "I swear I'm the good guy in this."

Sasha felt her gaze drawn to his left shoulder, and she felt her eyes widen as she threw herself to the ground, dodging Raymond's laser blaster as he cold fired his pistol at her. She quickly raised herself to her shoulder and took aim at Raymond, who was charging up another shot.

"Don't move, I'm placing you under arrest."

Raymond laughed and aimed his gun at her, the weapon beeped softly as it finished charging. "Sorry Sasha, I'm not going to jail, and you don't have the guts to kill me."

Sasha closed her eyes. "Your right."

Raymond smiled and tightened his finger on his trigger.

Sasha opened her eyes and fired first, he round lancing through the light armor he wore and spinning the Cezar around to drop to the ground. His hand clutching as his stomach. Sasha grabbed at her shoulder, where her radio was. "This is Corporal Sasha Phyronix, badge number 13257, I'm at 4586 Industrial, and we have an officer down, send back up and medical, immediately."

She stood up as the control responded to her words, she ignored them as she ran over to Raymond, dropping to her knees next to him. She ran her gaze over him before she cupped her hands over his wound. "Why Raymond, why...I looked up to you...why..."

"_Raymond died before back up could arrive."_

Sasha glanced up at Ratchet across the table. "When back up finally reached us, Raymond had been dead for a few minutes already. I left the building and was sick outside, unable to keep my dinner down. All I could see was his face as he looked at me as he died. They called me a hero for stopping the dirty cop. They also assigned a shrink to me to talk it through, but I never told him the questions that plagued me." She raised her gaze again, this time locking eyes with Ratchet. "The same questions you just asked me. How could I call myself a hero when I killed the person I looked up to, and what kind of a person did it make me that I had no issue pulling that trigger."

Sasha lapsed into silence and Ratchet spoke up. "Did you ever find your answers?"

Sasha nodded. "Yeah, it took three years, but I did." Ratchet leaned forward and Sasha smiled as she reached out and grabbed his hand. "I found them in you Ratchet, in somebody who like me, made the hard choices and kept going, no matter what. You and I are cut from the same cloth, and sometimes, all we need to do to banish our demons it just talk them out."

Ratchet was silent as he looked at their clasped hands. "Talk it out? Isn't that what we just did? So shouldn't I feel better?"

Sasha was silent for a moment. "I feel a bit better, finally telling somebody else what happened. But then again, I already came to terms." she tightened her grip on Ratchets hand. "Tell me something Ratchet, when you were fighting Alister for control of the Great Clock, what were you thinking? Were you thinking about fighting him?"

Ratchet shrugged "Well, sure, I was focused on the fight."

Sasha nodded. "Right, but what drove you to fight Alister, did you want to fight him?"

Ratchet shook his head. "No, all I wanted to do was stop the Great Clock from failing. I wanted to protect the galaxy."

Ratchet blinked and looked up at Sasha who smiled. "I wasn't thinking about killing Raymond when I pulled that trigger, I was thinking about the kids who's lives were being controller by the gang. I was thinking of the people he had hurt by letting drugs get into our city. I was thinking of protecting Marcadia." She paused "Sometimes, what we're forced to do, can cloud our judgment about why we did it. But we just need to remember, that its people like us, that keep the galaxy safe from people like Raymond, or people like Alister, who get so caught up in their own guilt and reasons, they can't see what their actions will cause."

Ratchet stood up and moved away from the table. "So, you're saying Alister was a bad guy?"

Sasha stood up as well and put a hand on his shoulder. "No, I'm saying he was a good guy, just like Raymond had once been. He just made some poor choices."

Ratchet was silent for a long moment before he sighed. "I've got a lot to think about." he turned around to face Sasha, glancing out the window at the night sky outside. "Wow, we've been talking a while." he looked down at the ground. "Do you mind if I stay here tonight? I'll sleep on the floor."

Sasha smiled and reached out, placing a hand on Ratchet's arm. "Ratchet..." she smiled at him and sat down on the bed, pulling him down with her. "I don't mind sharing a bed with you."

Sometime later, Sasha woke up and sighed as she felt Ratchet's heart beat against her back as he cuddled up against her in the bed. She felt his breath tickle the top of her head and she smiled as she moved slightly to get more comfortable. She heard Ratchet's breathing pattern change as he yawned.

A moment later he spoke up. "Sasha." his voice was quiet. "Thank you for coming, and thank you for listening. It helped."

Sasha rolled over and kissed him gently on the cheek, gazing into his sleepy eyes. "You're welcome Hotshot."

She wrapped her arms around him and drifted back off to sleep.

_**I have no idea where the Idea of Ratchet running a shop and Sasha seeking him out actually came from, just that it came while I was doing that text exchange with my friend. Maybe part of it is based off how I started my first Ratchet and Clank story, it's got a similar idea anyway. **_

_**So, real quick, No, Dread Lord, my current Ratchet and Clank story is not dead, I just felt like getting this typed out. Make sure you leave me a review with your thoughts eh?**_

_**Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed.**_

_**Now really sure hwy I'm sharing this, but I feel like I need to. As I was getting ready to upload this, I got a call from one of my Best Friends, letting me know that his dog had just died from being hit by a careless driver. My prayers to him and his family, as we're all big dog lovers and he helped me through the loss of my own Dog a few months ago. Send some hope his way that everything goes alright for him. He has two kids that he needs to explain to now.**_

_**Peace,**_

_**- Emile**_


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